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Forum update progress


Saru

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In the near future we will be updating the forums to a newer version of Invision Board, a move that will bring with it a new modern layout and a significant number of feature changes and additions. A date for this update hasn't been confirmed yet as the new template is still being worked on, more specific details about our update schedule will be posted nearer the time.

As a preview here are a few of the changes that you can expect to see with this update:

Topic tags

In addition to a regular topic description there will be the option to add tags to a thread you create. These are beneficial because they help your thread to be indexed in the search system for relevant keywords. A new "related threads" content block will also be displayed underneath topics that list threads with similar tags, this both helps users find content they are interested in and nets your own threads more exposure.

Like system

We've had a few requests for this and it's finally coming - members will have the option to 'like' individual forum posts which gives you the opportunity to give a post the thumbs up without needing to post a direct response. The total number of 'likes' your posts receive is also counted up and displayed in your profile, a new tab will be available to view all the 'likes' you have given or received and on which posts. It is not possible to negatively rate a post which means that this system is reserved purely for giving recognition to quality posts and contributions.

Streamlined profiles

Profile pages have been redesigned, status updates and profile comments have been combined to form a single 'profile feed' system that can be updated from anywhere on the forums via a drop-down menu at the top of the page. Profile photos and avatars will also be combined in to a single 'profile image' option, when the update goes ahead this will default to your current avatar image and can then be changed to whatever you like after that.

New chat room

We will be moving away from our current Flash based chat room to a more user-friendly chat that is integrated in to the forum. What this means is that you won't need to log in to the chat separately any more and the room will use your forum profile directly. Quite a few members have had difficulties getting the Flash chat room to work so this change should solve these issues.

On top of these changes there will be a significant number of graphical, design and layout changes aimed at modernising the forums and keeping things quick and easy to use. A number of under-the-hood changes are also being made to improve page load times and general performance.

One other thing that we wanted to give you a heads up on is that with this update we will be dropping support for Internet Explorer 6. While the new forum version will be accessible on IE6 it won't look or work too great, if you are still using IE6 we strongly recommend either updating to a newer version of Internet Explorer or switching to any one of a number of free alternative modern browsers such as Firefox, Chrome or Safari.

More details on the scheduled upgrade date to follow soon.

Update: The forum upgrade will take place on Saturday, April 28th.

Edited by Saru
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Will these new features be capable of being used with threads that all ready exist, or will they only be capable of being used for topics created after the update?

Also, will any of these changes cause old posts to have their currently displayed format altered (or "messed up").

I have seen some forums where after a change was made the tags and everything used when one is creating a post become viewable as part of the displayed message (although these instances have occurred on forums that aren't nearly as well run or established as this site is).

Edited by Angel Left Wing
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Will these new features be capable of being used with threads that all ready exist, or will they only be capable of being used for topics created after the update?

While you won't be able to go back and edit tags in to old threads, the changes do apply to all topics and posts. You'll be able to 'like' posts in threads that were around before the update for example.

Also, will any of these changes cause old posts to have their currently displayed format altered (or "messed up").

No, this update won't mess up any of the existing forum content.

I have seen some forums where after a change was made the tags and everything used when one is creating a post become viewable as part of the displayed message (although these instances have occurred on forums that aren't nearly as well run or established as this site is).

There won't be any issues like this, the tags won't interfere with the existing thread contents.

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Good news. One question I have: Will there be support for iPads to upload images? currently this is not possible and more often than not I am accessing the site through Safari on an iPad.

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Unfortunately no, it won't be possible to upload files to the forum from an iPad.

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I am not asking for a big bite, though, will the new promised chat system will still be using an upgraded version of the present flash chat software in place, or will it totally be revamped? And, it wont be a shout box, right?

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The chat system we will be using is not a version of the Flashchat software, it won't use Flash at all, nor will it be a shoutbox.

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Update:

The upgrade will be taking place on Saturday, April 28th from around 9am GMT; the forums will be off-line for several hours while the database is updated and the new forum software is implemented. There will also be a period of downtime for the chat room following the update while we switch over to the new chat software, while we're hoping to have the chat room back up on the same day it may take longer depending on how things go.

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In the near future we will be updating the forums to a newer version of Invision Board, a move that will bring with it a new modern layout and a significant number of feature changes and additions. A date for this update hasn't been confirmed yet as the new template is still being worked on, more specific details about our update schedule will be posted nearer the time.

Like system

We've had a few requests for this and it's finally coming - members will have the option to 'like' individual forum posts which gives you the opportunity to give a post the thumbs up without needing to post a direct response. The total number of 'likes' your posts receive is also counted up and displayed in your profile, a new tab will be available to view all the 'likes' you have given or received and on which posts. It is not possible to negatively rate a post which means that this system is reserved purely for giving recognition to quality posts and contributions.

Beg pardon for asking questions, but this will only be on the profile page? In some places this is used, it can be rather a popularity contest; "I have 3240 Likes, and that person only has 2", kind of thing. Will this total be accessible to all?

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Beg pardon for asking questions, but this will only be on the profile page? In some places this is used, it can be rather a popularity contest; "I have 3240 Likes, and that person only has 2", kind of thing. Will this total be accessible to all?

Anyone can view another member's likes on their profile page, however remember it's a person's posts that receive likes rather than the member themselves - it isn't their profile that is being liked but their contributions to the forums.

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3 days to go - getting excited and looking forward to checking out the new UM. Thank you Saru for your continued dedication to making this simply the best Forum on the net :)

Edited by libstaK
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Yeah, hopefully when my baby forum (nothing near as broad as UM) grows up, it will be just as good as UM. Looking forward to the new and exciting as well.

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3 days to go - getting excited and looking forward to checking out the new UM. Thank you Saru for your continued dedication to making this simply the best Forum on the net :)

I'm 'liking' this post after the update! :tsu:

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Smiley-Jump.gif
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I'm an elderly gent that doesn't respond well to change, so can I stay on the old system, please?

s12078.gif

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I'm an elderly gent that doesn't respond well to change, so can I stay on the old system, please?

Sorry no, we can't run more than one version at the same time.

Give the new one a chance though, one of its perks is that is has been designed to be easier to use. :)

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WOw!! I am getting excited!! I just cant wait for the new chat system!

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The update will begin shortly, the forums will be going down in around 15 minutes time.

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Update:

The forum has now been upgraded however there are still quite a few things being worked on - the search system is currently down, the chat room is still to be done and there are quite a few bugs all over the place that need fixing.

If you run in to any errors or problems please do let me know, thank you.

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The reply button under each post is missing. How do we reply to a certain post.

All I see is a "Reply to this topic" section at the bottom of the page.

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The 'reply' button under specific posts is the same as the 'quote' button, all it did was quote that specific post.

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The 'reply' button under specific posts is the same as the 'quote' button, all it did was quote that specific post.

I posted something in the Oera Linda Book thread, but I deleted it after I saw te fontsize was minimal.

Before deleting I had edited the post, increased the fontsize, but nothing had changed.

+++

EDIT:

I edited one word in this post, and tried to give it a larger fontsize.

.Let's see.

EDIT:

OK, that seems to work again.

.

Edited by Abramelin
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